good bye california--hello northern michigan

i have decided to make a career change and help my friend barbara with her handbag business. barbara's company is called b.may bags. she makes handbags by hand in northern michigan, which is where i will be moving to. the bags are made in petoskey, michigan in what is called the "baglab". see below for an example of her bags and what the baglab looks like in the summer and winter (taken today). i will miss california, but that's why they have jets.
become a fan of b.may bags on facebook by clicking here.

internet @ 35000 ft thanks delta and ebay

wow...who would ever have thought you could post a blog entry @ 35000 ft.
hope everyone had a good thanksgiving and if you are traveling...travel fast.

the last dance-the starlight

had a great week in the big bend area of texas. met a lot of new friends.
if you ever want to take a great photo workshop checkout this link.
speaking of friends, made a short slide show (see below or click link if in fb), used a song I heard in the starlight bar while the couple above was dancing (bummer I missed happy hour- 2$ margaritas)...I am not a big fan of country...but pretty appropriate.

come to jesus

church in terlingua, tx
hdr image

the kitchen is closed

on the road today between carlsbad, nm and el paso, tx
ruins all over the place..stay tuned for more.
(if you are wondering why it looks a little funky its a technique called hdr, which blends multiple images together).
you either love it or hate it. i like it.

free trade

people come across the river to sell trinkets to the gringos.
big bend national park

mexican sunset-rio grande

what you cant see and hear are the mexican cowboys on the other side of the river and how loud they are singing. big bend national park-wednesday nov 18

pretty sharp

there are cactus and prickers everywhere here in southwest texas

prada anyone

the prada store...marfa, texas. 500 miles from dallas. not really a store...its an "art" exhibit. you are driving and all the sudden you see a "prada store"...woooo

2nd Lt Peter Burks-an American hero

2nd Lt Peter Burks. My friend Alan Burks son. Died 2 years ago today in Iraq.
Take a minute to imagine yourself..in a far away country...fighting a war...fighting people who hate what we have. Peter gave his life so we can be free. Over 4000 men and women have as well. You can do something for our troops. It will only cost you $10. Buy a soldier a steak dinner. Click here to find out how...tell them Pete Burks sent you.

rat girl...aka my god daughter adison

yes.....that's a rat in my god daughters hand.
made a cool slide show of some fall images of her..
click here to check out.

omg

great sticker on a sign in manhattan beach.
tough job no matter which party you like.

wind-bow

altamont pass...always cool to drive over the pass

blue angels 2009

not such great weather...but always cool to see the blue angels. one of the shots are of the angels flying over my house. notice in one of the shots...the pilots don't look ahead...they look at each other.

long time no blog

now that its fall...hopefully some more posts. enjoy the lone oak. somewhere south east of mono lake california

the boy in the striped pajamas

my blog is not the place for movie suggestions etc. but feel compelled to tell people to watch the boy in the striped pajamas, its blowaway. here is a link to the trailer. i visited Auschwitz on January 2nd of this year....its a day i will never forget. please watch this short slide show below. (if you saw it in january please watch it again). when you are done...go figure out a way to help free someone from oppression, or a better life. here are a few links: (kiva is my fav.)

darfur now
one
kiva loans that save lives

luang prabang side street

laos-2002 one of my favorite pictures

kids who don't have a whole lot....but pretty happy!

the red sea--egypt 2002 not so red

adison

my god daughter...pretty cute...and only 2

ship wrecked wanchese nc

obx....the outerbanks north carolina

i should have bloged everyday...but was lame and did not...so here are some images from the 1st 3 days here.....really nice place....in the off season...

flower power

pretty nice flowers taken just south of big sur

santa rosa stock yards

look closely on the receipt in the 3rd photo...its dated 1982....wow i was a senior in high school that year...

summer is back-the fog is here

it has a nice kitchen and living room

Hornitos California...off the beaten path

color blast-no photoshop necessary

moon set over marin

aspen 2009-aspens

another beautiful day in aspen

aspen 2009

a great visit to aspen

blue dog is where is at

big thanks to sandra at rodrigue studio in carmel

check it out at www.georgerodrigue.com

the mustard tree

yosemite...a nice place to be...even in the rain

big sur

big sur.....one of the nicest places in california...
the elephant seals think so too!

tiburon buzzard

the buzzard came for visit today....they actually fly around alot...but for some reason they liked something in my front yard today. so how did i get so close? actually after shooting from my deck i went outside and got within 3o ft...but it helps to have a 400mm lens.

mare island at night

beleive it or not all these photos were taken between 9pm and 11pm under a full moon.

a few more photos here

costa rican sunset 2002

a beautiful place to visit...though the diving not so hot..

peru 2001

i realized i have 7 years of digital images that have never been blogged...so why not publish some. my 1st digital camera a 2mp cannon...with a 128 mb card...wow how things have changed.

yellowstone 2009 bison, old faithful and snowcoaches

The 2009 Luc Robitaille Celebrity Shootout, Sundance

I shot for the D.I.S.C group the The 2009 Luc Robitaille Celebrity Shootout to benefit the Echoes of Hope at Sundance. the event was great and for a really good cause. for more photos click here .

death valley...is really a nice place to visit

Auschwitz and Birkenau

pictures don't describe how you feel when you walk thru auschwitz and birkenau.
its mind blowing to think this was allowed to happen in many of our life times.
1.3 million people were killed in auschwitz and birkenau. jews, poles, gypsys and soviet pows.

for slide show please click here

poland-not as bad as it looks.....i swear....

happy new year cesky budejovice style

they get into it here in the czech republic-happy new year.

prague-timeless

budapest-night and day

golden gate glow

saturday fades into the pacific. tiburon and the golden gate bridge

rainbow after the storm

getting ready to leave for work today...stormy monday...and was super psyched to see a rainbow...

2008-year in pictures

music by dave matthews band-the dreaming tree
for a higher quality version click here

thanksgiving 2008

lots to be thankful for...love to go visit florida...besides getting to see my mom and dad...lots of beautiful birds, sink holes and beach...and of course the fsu seminoles...for more click here

where cars go in montana to rest

pretty cool "junk yard" on the way to big sky for more click here

big sky country

bridger mountain range, yellowstone wolves...a real nice place to be....big sky country...
for a few more photos click here

fly over slide show

i made a slide show....click here to view
things change quick in the fly over states...a huge blizzard this week....in contrast to the 70 degree temperatures i had. hope you like the slide show.

fly over day 5 big drive 930 miles south dakota to oklahoma

flyover day 4 north dakota badlands to sd ....550 miles

fly over day 3-rushmore, devils tower and north to north dakota

no tourists, hardly anyone lives up here...all white, no black, no mexican...just mainly white people....no one even bothers with mccain signs...

fly over day 2 badlands, bison and black hills south dakota

fly over day 1 kansas, nebraska & south dakota

600 miles today..easy driving, zig zaged my way up to warm springs, sd just south of mt rushmore. a very quiet place in america....too quiet. people do wave when in the car going the oposite way....you don't see very many kids...when you look at some of the photos....you'll know why.

fall color

mirror image


an american barn

angel island on fire

a really sad day...angel island, the biggest island in san francisco bay caught on fire......it could have been a lot worse....the cdf firefighters did an awesome job puting the fire out.

the blue angels-san francisco 2008

I never get tired of watching he blue angels. its fun to shot them in different locations. this year's location...right in front of alcatraz....

more of the maltese falcon...a very cool boat..

the maltese falcon

the maltese falcon....really cool boat...moored in sausalito. read more about this beautiful boat. click here

denali sunrise

landed in anchorage at 11:30 pm, drove 4 hours...slept in car and was treated to the sun hitting the eastern slope of denali last june.

30 hours-10 pictures

you can do a lot in california...so here are 10 pictures taken within a span of 30 hours this weekend.

sunday afternoon visitor

a humming bird likes to come visit...there are more than deer around here.

you never know what the sunrise will bring.......

thats why i love living in the bay area...enjoy

the eastern sierra-owens valley, mt whitney and tioga road

good stuff in one day, from owens valley (dust storm and elk included), the alabama hills in the morning with mt whitney in the background and then on up over tioga pass...a lot to see and do. to check out more photos click here

the eastern sierra-bridgeport to mono lake

labor day road trip....ended up in mammoth the 1st night. along the way stoped in bridgeport for a rodeo and mono lake....for more check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisvanwinkle/sets/72157607081694800/

scott kelby worldwide photowalk

i participated in the 1st annual scott kelby photowalk last weekend. over 6000 people participated. this shot was a fluke...a lady in green curlers was walking by, real fast. i was lucky to capture this shot. here is a link to some more photos from the walk.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisvanwinkle/sets/72157606956282338/ or to read more about the event.. http://www.photoshopuser.com/photowalk/

08-08-08 west utah desert

heading out of salt lake city last friday I headed right into a really cool storm...miss those storms.

mt tam glow

no fog tonight...at least not around mt tam....

the kite runner

over in the berkeley marina this weekend there was a kite festival...great day to fly a kite...

sutro tower fades into late july

not much to say...beautiful night...sutro gets the last light.

the salton sea

most people who live in California don't know where the salton sea is...or have ever been. its a pretty unique place. read more about it here . in the mean time enjoy the pictures. and if you have ever seen into the wild...you may recognize salvation mountain from the movie...its right next to slab city.

alaska 2008

I recently attended an awesome wildlife photography workshop up in Alaska. It was taught by Moose Peterson, his wife Sharon and his sleep deprived assistant Josh Bradley. I have to say it was an awesome experience.

Needless to say, there is a lot to photograph up in Alaska. I 'd say we took close to 10,000 images, which means lots of editing. The photos below are a few of my favorites...more to come

full moon in marin

really nice moon the last 2 nights, some nice fog as well. enjoy the pictures.

mt tam fog

fog comes and goes in marin during the summer months. its never the same.

nascar in northern california

yes, we have nascar here. lots of great color..on and off the track.

the buckster

we also have a buck who visits as well...he likes tiburon as well.

the birds of audubon canyon and bolinas lagoon

went today to the bolinas lagoon and wandered into the audubon canyon. what a cool place. today was the last day they are open until march. they have some cool birds living there and nice people working there. the birds pictured live in the lagoon out front and in the trees of audubon canyon.

visitors this morning-bambi